I've heard FX is looking to launch their own video on demand service, so it'll probably show up on there as well, saving you a few dollars in the process. Now if only they'll put up LUCKY, I'll be pig-in-shit happy.

I've heard FX is looking to launch their own video on demand service, so it'll probably show up on there as well, saving you a few dollars in the process. Now if only they'll put up LUCKY, I'll be pig-in-shit happy.

They have a whole bunch of shit up on HULU, including some clips for Sons of Anarchy and the first 3 seasons of Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia, so I wouldn't be surprised if some full eps. of SOA showed up there as well.

I'll be watching this on Wednesday though. Second most anticipated season this fall behind the last season of The Shield.

I was just setting up my season passes for the upcoming week (a lot of TV is coming back!) and realized FX is one of the few channels that doesn't have an HD option on Comcast (virginia). I mean, even Spike is in HD, although that doesnt seem to be a very prevalent channel on most carriers.

I have DirectTV and they added FXHD something like eight months ago. Still, most of the programming is in SD except the movies they air (Hellboy was in HD). I think SOA is in SD too but I'll let you know on Wednesday.

I've heard FX is looking to launch their own video on demand service, so it'll probably show up on there as well, saving you a few dollars in the process. Now if only they'll put up LUCKY, I'll be pig-in-shit happy.

Lucky was a hilarious show, and my first exposure to Craig Robinson. I'd buy that on DVD, on demand, whatever.

There are moments that require you not to think too hard, and some of the black humor doesn't overcome its fundamental nastiness. But on the whole, it's a superior package, intelligently constructed and handsomely executed. Hunnam, Perlman and Sagal -- a fine actress with so much more to her than Peg Bundy -- ride at the head of a large and excellent cast that includes "Sopranos" vet Drea de Matteo as Jax's drug-addicted, pregnant ex-wife; Maggie Siff (Rachel on last season's " Mad Men") as his old girlfriend; and Mark Boone Junior as a biker accountant.

Sutter gives them good scenes to play; he knows how to bury information within action and doesn't tell you everything he thinks you need to know about a character within the first hour. That alone gives you a reason to come back

I thought that was a great pilot. Love shows that just drop you into the world and let you mostly figure it out for your self. The pilot was pretty successful though in establishing the main characters and some plot threads.

So I'm guessing using the One-Niner's as one of the gangs is simply an ode to The Shield and nothing more?

Favorite part had to be the closing montage though. Especially that last shot where their looking at the baby in the nursery and Perlman steps into the shot in the background. Awesome.

And for those who want to know, it was broadcast in 16:9 HD on DirecTV.

Even though Coates didn't have a huge role tonight (though offing that one dude from the back of the truck was sweet) I'm betting he's the Paulie Walnuts of the crew. That would fit just right.

Hope Glenn Plummer is utilized more and more as the show goes on.

Quote:

Originally Posted by InTheShadows

So I'm guessing using the One-Niner's as one of the gangs is simply an ode to The Shield and nothing more?

I think it's more than an ode. It seems to say that this show is loosely of the same world as "The Shield." It's not a spinoff by any means, but it's sort of cool to think of what other connections might pop up here and there down the road.

I think it's more than an ode. It seems to say that this show is loosely of the same world as "The Shield." It's not a spinoff by any means, but it's sort of cool to think of what other connections might pop up here and there down the road.

Good point. It certainly makes it more interesting to think about and they could certainly use that in later episodes. I could be wrong, but I don't think the actor who played the gang leader ever appeared in a Shield episode, especially as a one-niner. I guess they avoided that because it would have definitively tied the worlds together.

Forgot to mention the scene where the dude with half a sac beat up the Korean Elvis. That part made me laugh.

Really solid. Kinda...evenly paced, to be polite. However, I hope that that's just pilot blues like nearly every other show. Sagal was pretty badass. I love the fact that nearly all the crew is recognizable cool actors.

I thought it was interesting in Sepinwall's review ( http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/i...of_anarch.html ) where he thought that Pearlman was the weak link, actor wise. No fire, no menace. I gotta say, don't see that. Maybe he missed the last scene. Maybe he missed some dude getting shot in the throat. Maybe he's just not a fan.

Awesome. It's incredibly dark, but that works. They had to reshoot a lot of it with Perlman in the place of Scott Glenn to make it lighter. I can't imagine what the original pilot was like. I love the cast. Perlman is Perlman. Everyone else is great. It's annoying to see the pizza boy from AVP2 acting after that movie. I wish he had to become a civilian and deliver actual pizzas for penance. Also, Sutter has now joined Ryan and Mamet as The Three Amigos of wife casting. But Segal isn't bad.

The comedy is a little tone deaf, that may be Sutter, but it's most likely Alan Taylor. He's a genius, but his pilots always have an earnest execution. He's jumped into shows midstream that had an effective sense of dark comedy, but none of the shows he started have been funny. Fingers crossed for the Schwartzman HBO pilot.

Not entirely sure. I mean it has Perlman, which is always great, and should have sold me. I guess it just seemed kind of cheesy. Mostly the really young and pretty guy as the founder and badass of this hardcore biker gang. Just couldn't buy it in the commercials and trailers. It just seemed kind of bland and forgettable.

Of course, I also completely skipped Damages only to read about how great it was. I guess new shows on FX worry me after how bad Nip/Tuck has gotten.

Related but unrelated: I heard a promo for this on the radio last night, and they ran down the big cast names before getting to, "...and introducing Charlie Hunnam." "Introducing"?? I wanted to kick my radio in the nuts.

He's not the founder. His dad was. Now, Perlman is in charge and he's fucking the pretty boy's mom. It's kind of like Hamlet.

Since it was just the first episode, I was easily able to overlook some of the issues I had with this, pacing-wise. The cast is ostensibly great, but I'm still not quite sold on these guys being total badasses. There were some shots when they're all together in which they look like a bunch of overweight old men. But Katey Sagal was without question a hard ass.

It wasn't a great episode but I am looking forward to the rest of the season. The cast is pretty great and it sucks that Callie and Karnes weren't in the pilot. Hopefully they get a lot of screentime when they are finally introduced. Also Kim Coates.

I am also intrigued by this Scott Glenn business. I had no problems with Perlman, though.

The more I think about it, the more this thing was filled with all kinds of little details that really interested me, made me want to get to know these characters and this world more. William Lucking's character, for one. There was a great little shot of him- He had just given a testimonial in the meeting to Jacks, and how proud he was of him, how his Daddy would have been proud, then cut to them outside of the boxing ring, when Jacks mentions how he'd like to take the business legit- there is this great look on Lucking's face, a look of disbelief, disappointment.

I'd like to see more of Maggie Siff's tattoo. Between this and Mad Men, I'm becoming a fan.

Everyone would.

This is some pretty good shit. Although drawing the obvious comparisons to the Shield, Vic Mackey shot a cop in the pilot of the Shield. Jackson Teller couldn't kill another gang member in the pilot for Sons of Anarchy. He beat the shit out of one of the Nords, and killed the other guy, but he seems to be rather weak, relatively speaking.

Even his frickin' mom thinks he's soft. It's likely to come more into play in later episodes though.

I really hate the way Jacks walks. It's like he's trying really hard to look cool. It bugs me, particularly in that scene where he's walking into the hospital with Perlman and buddies (who are walking normally) following behind.

Not a fan of the first episode. I thought the promos were horrible and Perlman saying, "I don't care who we have to grease or kill" came off bad to me. He came off ass a shitty leader not knowing what is going on.

Drea de Mateo better be dead or it will ruin the one bright spot on the episode. Segal getting her to kill herself is awesome. But if she's alive then it was pointless.

Great start. Although I agree that sometimes the SOA just don't seem that scary. Charlie Humman is good in the role but he might be too much of a pretty boy to totally convince. Doesn't ruin it though. I'll tune in next week.
Anyone know how it did in the ratings?

The seventh and final season premiere of FX's "The Shield" debuted on par Tuesday night, while the network's new series "Sons of Anarchy" got off to a modest start Wednesday.

After a 15-month absence, cop drama "Shield" returned at 10 p.m. Tuesday to an average of 2.1 million total viewers, including 1.3 million in the adults 18-49 demo, according to Live + Same Day data from Nielsen Media Research. That's even with the April 2007 sixth-season premiere.

Meanwhile, "Anarchy," the motorcycle-club drama starring Charlie Hunnam, averaged 2.5 million total viewers at 10 p.m. Wednesday against competition that included coverage of the Republican National Convention.

That was off when compared with other recent FX series premieres, including "Damages" (3.7 million in July 2007), "The Riches" (3.8 million in March 2007) and "Dirt" (3.7 million in January 2007).

However, a repeat at 11:16 p.m. averaged another 1.2 million total viewers.

In 18-49, "Sons" pulled in 1.5 million at 10 p.m. and another 817,000 for the repeat.

So it actually out performed the season premiere of The Shield in both the 18-49 demo as well as total viewers.